IAEMFEMA, in partnership with organizations that collectively represent the emergency management profession, including IAEM, today are releasing a third video presentation from the PrepTalks Symposium held on Sept. 6, 2018, in Washington, D.C. The video is Dr. Sheri Fink’s “Triage, Ethics and Operations: Healthcare Emergency Preparedness and Response." Dr. Fink is author of the Hurricane Katrina-related book, “Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital,” and her latest article, “Lost in the Storm,” tracks a family’s attempts to be rescued during Hurricane Harvey. Dr. Fink is a former relief worker in disaster and conflict zones, and received her M.D. and Ph.D. from Stanford University. In her PrepTalk, Dr. Fink shares those two real-world case studies that demonstrate the value of situational awareness, the complexities of prioritizing limited resources, and the importance of ensuring systems can effectively support operational decisions. When available today, Dr. Fink's PrepTalk, the question-and-answer session that followed, a discussion guide, and additional reference materials will be at www.fema.gov/preptalks/fink.

IAEMDuring the IAEM Annual Conference, Todd DeVoe, emergency and business continuity manager for a college in South Orange County, California, and an emergency management instructor at the University of California and Coastline Community College, recorded a podcast. The featured interview is IAEM-USA President Marty Shaub, CEM. She provides insights on the emergency management profession, IAEM’s future, certification and the conference. Conference attendees provided commentary to Todd on their conference expectations and experiences. Listen to the podcast.

IAEMNicolas Chebroux, CEM, emergency management specialist with the National Energy Board, Government of Canada, was recognized for his efforts in coordinating the federal humanitarian response for refugees at the Quebec border in 2017. He was sent by the Canadian Red Cross to the Quebec border to implement a first-time, federal-level international response to welcome refugees to Canada. Dave Colvin, CEM, emergency management coordinator, County of Perth, Ontario, was recognized for the work that he has done with the adoption and implementation of the Municipal 511 system in Perth County. This project has increased interoperability and overall response capabilities in Perth. Learn more by reading the articles by Carey Thiessen, who interviewed each of the award recipients.

IAEMFEMA’s National Integration Center on Nov. 1 released for public feedback four documents that provide guidance regarding the Housing core capability under the National Preparedness Goal. Your feedback on these products will help to ensure that agencies having jurisdiction and personnel functioning in this capacity have the knowledge, experience, training, and capability to perform the duties of their assigned roles. The four draft documents are: one National Incident Management System (NIMS) Job Title/Position Qualification and Resource Typing Definition and three National Qualification System Job Title/ Position Qualifications and Position Task Books. NIMS Job Titles/Position Qualifications and Resource Typing Definitions define minimum qualifications and capabilities for personnel and their equipment within their assigned teams which helps to manage all threats and hazards, regardless of an incident’s cause or size. FEMA will host a series of webinars to discuss the draft documents and answer questions. All Housing Task Force webinars are open to the whole community and will include: Nov. 9, 9:30-10:30 a.m.; Nov. 13, 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.; and Nov. 16, 2:30-3:30 p.m. EST. To obtain more details, review draft documents, and provide comments, visit the NIMS national engagement website. Submit the feedback form to fema-nims@fema.dhs.gov.

Route FiftyTo protect itself from a devastating flood, Boston was considering building a massive sea wall, cutting north to south through nearly 4 miles of Boston Harbor, taking $11 billion and at least 30 years to build. But a new plan unveiled in October represents a 180-degree turn: Instead of fighting to keep the water out, the city is letting it come in.READ MORE

.

PRODUCT SHOWCASE

Proven Reliability with 30 years of experience.Manufactured in Northern California, sales and distribution offices: Louisiana, Maryland,
United Kingdom, European Union, Middle East, South Pacific, and the Far East.
AquaDams have been deployed throughout the globe for flood protection. Contact us: 800-682-9283, Email: sales@aquadam.net

Phys.orgWhen Super Typhoon Haiyan struck in 2013 it was the disaster-prone Philippines' worst storm on record, with 7,350 people dead or missing.
Several factors caused the staggering death toll.READ MORE

Route FiftyThe U.S. Geological Survey has updated its list of U.S. volcanoes that pose a “very high” threat “due to what’s been happening inside them and how close they are to people,” as the Associated Press reported Thursday. It’s the first update to USGS National Volcanic Threat Assessment since 2005.READ MORE

Route FiftyCyberattacks increasingly target and succeed inside energy and utility companies’ IT networks, rather than their critical infrastructure, according to a new report from cybersecurity firm Vectra.
In the past, the energy and utility industry’s cyber efforts have focused on preventing disruption of power availability via industrial control networks.READ MORE

IAEMThe National Association of City and County Health Officials (NACCHO), in collaboration with the Department of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), recently conducted a needs assessment of health department and healthcare cybersecurity preparedness to better understand the gaps and challenges that prevent cybersecurity preparedness planning from advancing. Gaps included lack of awareness of their organization’s role in responding to a cyberattack, difficulty getting leadership buy-in to conduct cybersecurity preparedness activities, and lack of public health-specific cybersecurity preparedness guidance and resources. Additionally, NACCHO developed a fact sheet based on some of the strategies that are currently used by health departments and healthcare organizations to protect against and prepare for cyberattacks. Additional information on the needs assessment findings and the fact sheet can be found here.

Domestic PreparednessEmergency management is a complex, collaborative network of agencies, levels of government, nonprofit organizations, and volunteers coming together following a disaster. In addition to general plans and practices that can be applied to many emergency responses, some emergencies require more specialized training that may not be available in every jurisdiction. READ MORE

Emergency ManagementThe process of rebuilding is just starting for the families struck by the worst fire to hit the area in 25 years.
Steve and Candie Smith lost their 47th Avenue home in south Kennewick in a matter of minutes Aug. 11, but it’s likely going to be more than a year before their house is rebuilt.
“We’re really happy with how things are happening” said Candie, though she admits it’s been a slow process.READ MORE

Domestic PreparednessThroughout history, animals and pets have held varying degrees of importance to the people who care for them. They have been worshiped, raised for food, served as co-workers on farms, or just loved as companions. Regardless of their “worth,” when something disrupts the ability to care for those animals, outside help is needed. READ MORE

The ConversationOver the last decade, the U.S. has seen an average of 70,512 wildland fires every year, annually burning about 6.8 million acres. With climate change, scientists expect fires to become more frequent and more severe.
However, some people are more affected by these events than others. Our work, published on Nov. 2, shows that racial and ethnic minorities are significantly more vulnerable to the effects of these natural disasters. READ MORE

The Real DealExtensive property damage from Hurricane Michael exposed ongoing problems with flood-risk maps produced by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
FEMA flood maps put more than 200 homes in Mexico Beach in a zone with minimal flooding risk, but an analysis shows about 140 of these homes were demolished by storm surge from Hurricane Michael, which made its U.S. landfall in the small Gulf Coast town Oct 10.READ MORE

NextgovDrones are often a quality search and rescue tool. The Interior Department recently made excellent use of them in Hawaii to find and help people trapped by lava.
But drones aren't perfect at the task. Often, dense forests can block GPS signals that locate people. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology believe they have a solution.READ MORE

IAEMAs announced previously, new recertification requirements were implemented in January 2015. Recertification candidates who started an online recertification application prior to Jan. 5, 2015, should note that the application is tied to the old recertification requirements. Candidates can confirm they are working on an updated application by logging into the online application portal and checking if there is a recertification year (i.e. five-year recertification) listed under the recertification application in the first column of their candidate dashboard. Further information is posted on the CEM News page. Questions should be referred to Kate McClimans.

IAEMAs part of the IAEM Thursday Learning Webinar Series, IAEM has scheduled a webinar on “Increased Preparedness Working with Non-Traditional Partners” for Nov. 15, 2018, 1:00-2:00 p.m. EST. Emergency managers often work with schools and hospitals to develop and exercise emergency action plans. However, dams and levee owners often have plans as well. Fort Bend County has integrated levee emergency action plans into their plans through a multi-departmental approach to planning, training and response. This coordination has improved preparedness of levee improvement districts throughout the county. The county is traversed by the Brazos River and has a long history of flooding. This system has been tested through multiple flood events in recent years, as the county experienced three riverine floods between Memorial Day 2015 and Memorial Day 2016. The system was once again tested during Hurricane Harvey when record rainfall throughout the area caused massive flooding. The presenter will be Rita Anderson, an environmental scientist with Freese and Nichols, Inc., in Houston, Texas. Register online.

BCFocusThe hacker of verified profiles strikes again.Yet another official Twitter account belonging to the Indian government has been hacked to spread fake giveaway links. The official Twitter account of India’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has been hacked to advertise a Bitcoin giveaway scam, according to a report from Hard Fork.
Latest in the series of verified profile hacking, the NDMA twitter account hack did not post any fake links directly from NDMA's twitter account. READ MORE

The SunDevastating storms have left at least 30 dead across Italy after parts of the country were hit by falling trees and flash floods.
Nine people from two families were among the dead when fierce storms caused a river to burst its banks yesterday following days of intense downpours.READ MORE

Weekly Times NowThe Indonesian city of Padang, the capital of West Sumatra, declared a state of emergency after flash floods hit seven districts in the city on Friday, November 2, killing two children, authorities said. The deluge also washed away three houses, two bridges and left approximately 1,400 houses flood damaged, said Sutopo Puwo Nugroho, spokesman of the National Disaster Management Agency. READ MORE

The Baltimore SunMeteorologists were expecting some gusty winds and brief heavy rain as a line of storms approached Maryland on Friday. Not multiple tornadoes.
“Plenty of clouds around much of the morning into early this afternoon has reduced the instability that could aid in the intensity of the thunderstorms,” National Weather Service forecasters wrote Friday afternoon.READ MORE